“Maybe more than any other genre, videogame adaptations have had the most checkered past when it comes to box office success and critical reception,” Dergarabedian said.

Film adaptations of videogames since 2010

Title

Release date

Worldwide box office gross (millions)

Production budget (millions)

Rotten Tomatoes rating

“The Angry Birds Movie”

May 20, 2016

$151.0

$73.0

43%

“Ratchet & Clank”

April 29, 2016

$8.3

$20.0

16%

“Hitman: Agent 47”

Aug. 21, 2015

$82.3

$35.0

8%

“Pixels”

July 24, 2015

$244.9

$88.0

17%

“Need for Speed”

March 18, 2014

$203.3

$66.0

23%

“Silent Hill: Revelation 3D”

Oct. 26, 2012

$52.3

$20.0

5%

“Resident Evil: Retribution”

Sept. 14, 2012

$240.2

$65.0

30%

“Tron Legacy”

Dec. 17, 2010

$400.1

$170.0

51%

“Resident Evil: Afterlife”

Sept. 10, 2010

$296.2

$60.0

23%

“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”

May 28, 2010

$336.4

$200.0

36%

ComScore, Box Office Mojo, Rotten Tomatoes

This weekend saw the release of Sony Pictures Entertainment
SNE, +1.92%
“The Angry Birds Movie,” based on the wildly popular mobile game. The film, which carried a $73 million production budget, earned $39 million in its opening weekend in the U.S., pushing its worldwide gross to $151 million.

“The Angry Birds Movie,” however, still failed to capture a broad positive reception from critics.

“This new movie is not much beyond a superficially amiable ball of fluff,” said the New York Times. The film was awarded a 43% rating on Rotten Tomatoes — placing it squarely in rotten territory.

Still to come from the videogame genre this year are “Warcraft” and “Assassin’s Creed,” starring Oscar-nominee Michael Fassbender and Oscar winners Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons.

At its peak, the Warcraft videogame had 12.5 million players worldwide, according to MKM Partners analyst Eric Handler. For that movie to do well, it has to appeal to more than just the fans of the game. Just based on the film’s trailer, Handler seemed skeptical. He found the trailer confusing and unlikely to appeal to a broader audience.

“Assassin’s Creed,” seems to have the talent to make it work, and Handler said game-maker Ubisoft was involved in the film’s production.

“You have to get the best actors and the best directors and filmmakers on board to take the genre to the next level and change the perception,” Dergarabedian said. “I think we’re right on the cusp of this happening and when it does, studios are going to have a gold mine of revenue. But one hit and then a miss isn’t a trend.”

Hollywood jumped on the popularity of arcade videogames early with ’80s classics such as “Tron,” “WarGames” and “The Last Starfighter.” Though not based on specific videogames, these films were deemed groundbreaking and tapped into the genre and culture successfully, raking in substantial box office revenue along the way.

While subsequent decades produced fairly successful film adaptations in “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” and the “Resident Evil” franchise, the genre by and large, has disappointed, from Walt Disney Co.’s
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’90s adaptation of “Super Mario Brothers,” which earned just $20.9 million on a $48 million production budget, to critically-despised “Double Dragon,” “Street Fighter,” both “Mortal Kombat” films and “Wing Commander.”

Disney teamed with super producer Jerry Bruckheimer in 2010 to adapt Ubisoft’s award-winning “Prince of Persia” saga, and it tapped Jake Gyllenhaal to bring the Persian prince to life. The film brought in $336.4 million in worldwide box office revenue, after posting a $200 production budget. While critics found the film entertaining enough, with a 36% Rotten Tomatoes rating, it ultimately missed the mark.

Where superhero films and adaptations of books have stories backed by source material, many videogames, especially in their early stages, are not driven by nuanced stories. When they mature, they offer a completely different and wholly unique entertainment experience that Dergarabedian suggests is simply difficult to get right on film.

Understanding the original inspiration is key, said Handler.

“What we saw with the superhero genre was Marvel have people who understood the mythology and background of the comics involved in the filmmaking. You need that same thing in the videogame genre,” Handler said. “People still want good stories, and you have to be true to the franchise. This is a genre that has had trouble in the past, so there’s going to be some skepticism. It’s a tough call right now.”

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